Case Assignment British citizen Michael Woodford was a superstar executive for Japanese manufacturer Olympus, as he achieved tremendous success heading up the company’s European division. He then became one of the very few Western executives to become a CEO of a Japanese corporation when he was named CEO of Olympus. But his tenure as CEO was to be very brief in one of the most extreme cases of culture class ever seen in recent corporate history. Woodford survived only six months as CEO after being embroiled in an ethics dispute with the chair of the Olympus corporate board. Before starting this case, carefully review the background materials and pay close attention to cultural differences in leadership across cultures, including the differences between Eastern and Western cultures and the concepts of power distance and individualism/collectivism. Also, review some of the concepts from previous modules such as sources of power and power tactics. Then do some research on Michael Woodford and his stint at Olympus. Here are some articles to get you started: Rowley, A. (2012, Jan 10). Olympus saga: Lessons in corporate reform. The Business Times [Proquest] Tabuchi, H. (2011, Oct 15). In a culture clash, Olympus ousts its British chief. New York Times [Proquest] Interview: Michael Woodford describes his fall from Olympus. (2011). Asiamoney [Proquest] When you are finished with your research, write a 4- to 5-page paper addressing the following questions: As a British CEO of a Japanese company, how much power do you think he actually had? What were his sources of power? Refer to concepts from Module 1 regarding power sources as part of your answer in addition to concepts from Module 4. What role do you think differences in British and Japanese cultural values had in Woodford’s difficulties at Olympus? Refer to specific cultural dimensions such as power distance and individualism/collectivism and make sure to cite at least two of the readings from the background materials page for your answer. Given the cultural differences, what negotiation tactics and leadership practices should Woodford have taken in order to avoid the conflicts that he faced? Make sure to cite concepts from the background materials in your answer including Sadri (2013) and Chapter 11 from Comfort and Franklin (2014). Assignment Expectations Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps listed in the instructions. Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials. Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page. Rely primarily on the required background readings as your sources of information. Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper , including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations .

1. Case Assignment
British citizen Michael Woodford was a superstar executive for
Japanese manufacturer Olympus, as he achieved tremendous
success heading up the company’s European division. He then
became one of the very few Western executives to become a
CEO of a Japanese corporation when he was named CEO of
Olympus. But his tenure as CEO was to be very brief in one of
the most extreme cases of culture class ever seen in recent
corporate history. Woodford survived only six months as CEO
after being embroiled in an ethics dispute with the chair of the
Olympus corporate board.
Before starting this case, carefully review the background
materials and pay close attention to cultural differences in
leadership across cultures, including the differences between
Eastern and Western cultures and the concepts of power
distance and individualism/collectivism. Also, review some of
the concepts from previous modules such as sources of power
and power tactics. Then do some research on Michael Woodford
and his stint at Olympus. Here are some articles to get you
started:
Rowley, A. (2012, Jan 10). Olympus saga: Lessons in corporate
reform.
The Business Times
[Proquest]
Tabuchi, H. (2011, Oct 15). In a culture clash, Olympus ousts
its British chief.
New York Times
[Proquest]
Interview: Michael Woodford describes his fall from Olympus.
(2011).
Asiamoney
[Proquest]
When you are finished with your research, write a 4- to 5-page
paper addressing the following questions:
As a British CEO of a Japanese company, how much power do

2. you think he actually had? What were his sources of power?
Refer to concepts from Module 1 regarding power sources as
part of your answer in addition to concepts from Module 4.
What role do you think differences in British and Japanese
cultural values had in Woodford’s difficulties at Olympus?
Refer to specific cultural dimensions such as power distance
and individualism/collectivism and make sure to cite at least
two of the readings from the background materials page for your
answer.
Given the cultural differences, what negotiation tactics and
leadership practices should Woodford have taken in order to
avoid the conflicts that he faced? Make sure to cite concepts
from the background materials in your answer including Sadri
(2013) and Chapter 11 from Comfort and Franklin (2014).
Assignment Expectations
Follow the assignment instructions closely and follow all steps
listed in the instructions.
Stay focused on the precise assignment questions; don’t go off
on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general
background materials.
Make sure to cite readings from the background materials page.
Rely primarily on the required background readings as your
sources of information.
Include both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the
Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper
, including pages 13 and 14 on in-text citations